Entertainment
The Tinder Swindler Is Charging Fans *Serious* Money For Personalised Videos
You can’t keep a good man down — or Simon Leviev, either.
Famously known as the subject of Netflix’s The Tinder Swindler, Simon Leviev — real name Shimon Hayut — is now using video messaging platform Cameo to charge fans for personalised shoutouts. In a video announcing that he has joined the platform, he said: “Hi everybody, I am so excited to be here on Cameo. I’m Simon Leviev. If you want any blessing, birthday or whatever shoutout, I’m so excited to be here. I wish you a great and magnificent day, everybody. Take care.”
Fans can purchase a personalised video from Leviev for £146, while businesses will have to pay £1,460 for a professional one. TMZ reports that Leviev made “$30K within his first three days, charging $200 (£147) a pop for personal videos and $2k (£1467) per video for businesses.”
But his presence on Cameo has received mixed reactions. One delighted Cameo-reviewer wrote: “Can’t believe I got a Cameo from Simon. One of the finest luxuries in the world!”
Meanwhile, many Twitter users are furious that Leviev, who has been accused of scamming women he dated out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, is now charging for videos. Addressing Cameo directly, one tweeter fumed: “Why is this Tinder Swindler scammer allowed on your platform? Get this dude out of here.”
In a statement shared with The Independent, a Cameo spokesperson said: “Cameo aims to be a ubiquitous marketplace. To that end, we believe our customers should be in control of the connections they choose to make through our service, and we do not police the beliefs or opinions of the talent and fans who use Cameo.”
So far, Leviev has been banned from using various dating sites and apps, including Tinder, Match.com, Plenty of Fish, and OkCupid. He recently deleted his Simon Leviev Instagram profile, again. In a now-removed post, Leviev promised to share his side of the story: “If you thought what you saw on Netflix was shocking, wait and see what I reveal about this Netflix documentary.”
In a new interview with Inside Edition, premiered Feb. 21, Leviev claims the Netflix documentary painted an inaccurate portrayal of him. In a teaser of the sit-down chat, Leviev says: “I’m not this monster. I was just a single guy that wanted to meet some girls on Tinder.”
Bustle UK has reached out to Cameo for comment.
